- Author: Ricardo Vela
UC ANR continues to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) through Oct. 15, with a series of public Zoom events to create awareness of Latinos' struggles and celebrate their contributions to the U.S. and the world.
Under the slogan “Celebrating Together Hispanic Heritage Month,” we have partnered with volunteers from UC Master Gardeners, 4-H Youth advisors, and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educators to bring these programs to the Latino community. We have three Zoom forums with topics that we learned are important to Spanish-speaking Latinos.
October 6 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“Be Better Parents, How to Make Your Kid a Leader”
Guest Speaker: Claudia Diaz, 4-H youth development advisor
Recording at https://youtu.be/kDk8yF50nnU
October 13 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“How to Have a Successful Vegetable Garden”
Guest Speakers: UC Master Gardener volunteers from UCCE Sonoma County
October 15 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“The Power of a Nutritional Meal”
Guest Speaker: Susana Matias Medrano, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in nutritional science and toxicology, UC Berkeley
To register, visit https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=35503 or email ucnews.spanish@ucr.edu.
More information at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Hispanic_Heritage_Month/Mes_de_la_Herencia_Hispana_2021/Calendario_de_charlas_por_Zoom_999.
For Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month this year, UC ANR is recognizing three Latino professionals who serve their communities while upholding UC ANR's public values of academic excellence, honesty, integrity, and community service. This year the honorees are:
Leticia Christian is a CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educator in Alameda County. As a physician in her native Cuba, she helped people stay healthy and here in California as a nutrition educator she strives to do the same.
Gersain Lopez loves nature and at his job, his passion, commitment and hard work have made him a favorite ag technician at Desert Research and Extension Center.
Liliana Vega is a 4-H youth advisor for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Vega is an avid advocate for the Latinx community and social justice.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Baur named Western IPM Center director
After leading the Western Integrated Pest Management Center through the global COVID crisis as acting director, Matt Baur has been named permanent director effective July 1 to lead the center into the post-pandemic future.
Baur, an IPM practitioner and entomologist by training, had been the Western IPM Center's associate director since 2014.
“Like everyone, the center had to change the way we worked during the pandemic and some of those changes are likely to continue into our future,” Baur predicted. “The region we serve in the West is huge – Guam to Colorado, Alaska to New Mexico – and the remote technologies and virtual platforms we all became familiar with in 2020 can help us connect across those miles.”
Baur's goals for the center are to build on its successes and expand its outreach to serve new areas and audiences, promoting smart, safe and sustainable pest management across the region to protect the people, environment and economy of the American West.
“The vision of the center is “A healthier West with fewer pests,'” he explained, “and that's something I care about deeply. I have two sons and promoting integrated pest management is one way I help protect their world.”
Baur sees a need to reconnect with the people who research and teach IPM, and plans to attend meetings and conferences for all the scientific disciplines involved in pest management. He also plans to expand the center's connections to communities that have been under-represented and under-served in the past.
“I believe it's vital that we not only listen to but represent all the stakeholders in the West affected by pests and pest-management practices,” Baur said. “There are voices we haven't heard and communities we haven't served well in the past, and I am very happy to have the opportunity to change that. Integrated pest management can be a way to promote environmental and social justice, and as a regional IPM center, we can be leaders in that.”
Before joining the Western IPM Center, Baur worked as a research scientist at DuPont/Pioneer and was a research assistant professor at Louisiana State University. He received his doctorate in entomology at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and his bachelor's degree in biology from UC San Diego. He is a licensed pest control adviser in the state of California.
Baur is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at mebaur@ucanr.edu. – Steve Elliott
Shum named director of Business Operations Center
Su-Lin Shum joined UC ANR as director of the Business Operations Center June 14, 2021. Shum will oversee the consolidated Business Operations Center in Davis.
Shum brings over 25 years of experience in financial management, budget oversight, and financial operations and analysis within the UC system and beyond. Throughout her career, she has specialized in finance and business services while serving as the director of finance and business services at Sierra College, the director of budget and finance at the UC Berkeley Library, the interim assistant dean for Finance and Administration at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, and project manager and principal budget analyst at the UC Davis Budget Office.
While living in Canada, Shum served as the executive director of strategy and operations at the Pacific Carbon Trust Environmental Investment Agency and as director of corporate planning, reporting and program reviews/audits at the British Columbia Office of the Auditor General.
Shum earned an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, and a BA from the University of British Columbia.
Shum is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at sshum@ucanr.edu.
Kawakami named associate director of statewide programs operations and RECs
Heather Kawakami rejoined ANR as associate director of statewide programs operations and research and extension centers on June 7.
Kawakami, who has worked for UC since 1992, served as chief business officer for the Nutrition Policy Institute in 2017 and 2018. She has also worked in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, most recently as the business unit manager for the Department of Plant Sciences.
She earned a BA in medieval studies with a minor in Latin from UC Davis.
Kawakami is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at hekawakami@ucanr.edu.
Haghverdi receives UCOWR Early Career Award
Amir Haghverdi, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in irrigation and water management in the Environmental Sciences Department at UC Riverside, has been selected to receive the 2021 Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) Early Career Award for Applied Research. The national award recognizes outstanding early contributions in applied research related to water and promise of continued professional growth and recognition.
Haghverdi's research focuses on developing and disseminating scientific knowledge, practical recommendations, and tools for sustainable urban and agricultural water resources management. His approaches include field research trials, laboratory analyses, and computer modeling to identify opportunities for synergy between research and extension activities. His main research themes include irrigation water management, root zone soil hydrology, and precision agriculture. He is also interested in applications of advanced data acquisition and mining techniques, including remote sensing, GIS (geographic information systems) and GPS (global positioning system) technologies, machine learning, and wireless sensors.
UCOWR is a consortium of academic institutions and affiliates invested in water resources research, education and outreach.
4-H wins Diversity & Inclusion Award
The 2016-2019 UC 4-H Latino Initiative is the recipient of the Diversity & Inclusion: Expanding the 4-H Audience Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals.
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, statewide 4-H director, and 4-H advisors Steven Worker, John Borba, Claudia Diaz-Carrasco, Russell Hill, Katherine Soule and Liliana Vega, and Lupita Fabregas, former 4-H Youth Development assistant director for diversity and expansion, developed, implemented and evaluated culturally responsive program models to attract and retain Latino youth, families and volunteers into 4-H.
The project focused on seven counties – Kern, Merced, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Sonoma – selected to represent rural, suburban and urban communities. The number of Latino youth participating in the 4-H program increased more than 250% in three years. Youth enrollment statewide grew from 1.1% of the school-aged population in 2016 to 1.9% at the end of 2019. All counties achieved parity – within 80% of Latino youth in the population – by the end of year three (except Orange County which withdrew in year two). Read more about the UC 4-H Latino Initiative at http://4h.ucanr.edu/Resources/Latino/.
The NAE4-HYDP Diversity & Inclusion Award recognizes outstanding effort and accomplishments in achieving, expanding and/or sustaining diversity in the NAE4-HYDP organization, programs, and/or audiences.
The UC 4-H Latino Initiative team will be recognized at the NAE4-HYDP Conference in Memphis, Tenn., on November 16 or 17.
WEDA honors California Dairy Quality Assurance Program
The Western Extension Directors Association presented a 2021 Award of Excellence to the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program - Environmental Stewardship: A Public Private Partnership.
Launched in 1997, the program is led by Deanne Meyer, UCCE livestock waste management specialist, UCCE advisors Betsy Karle, Jennifer Heguy, David Lewis, Jeffery Stackhouse, Nicholas Clark, Randi Black and Daniela Bruno, and Denise Mullinax of the California Dairy Research Foundation.
The California Dairy Quality Assurance Program is a voluntary partnership between the dairy industry, government and academia. It has been proactive in addressing environmental concerns, setting up a voluntary certification project before the adoption of water quality regulations that targeted nitrogen management. To protect California's air and water quality, more than 700 dairy farms have completed an on-site, third-party evaluation of their facility's manure management.
Uhde named Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellow
Katherine Uhde, UC Master Gardener Program coordinator in Santa Clara County, has been selected as one of 50 Bloomberg fellows to receive full scholarships to earn a Master of Public Health through the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Uhde's project will focus on environmental challenges. She is working with Lucy Diekmann, UCCE urban agriculture and food systems advisor for Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, to develop project ideas that address public health practice needs.
“Generally, the project will focus on environmental health and wellness in Santa Clara County and the Bay Area,” Uhde said.
Ali Harivandi, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension turfgrass advisor, recently received an Ike Grainger Award from the United States Golf Association.
A UC Cooperative Extension environmental horticulturist based in Alameda County who specialized in turf, soil and water for 33 years, Harivandi served on the USGA's Turfgrass and Environment Committee and Green Section Research Committee. He is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on recycled water use on golf courses and other landscape sites. His expertise in soil and water quality have been important to the USGA.
Each year, the USGA presents the Ike Grainger Award to individuals who have served the Association as a volunteer for 25 years. These dedicated men and women tirelessly give back to the game through a variety of roles.
Harivandi was instrumental in encouraging the committee to seek out research to develop warm season grasses with greater drought tolerance and grasses that will some day be able to remain green during the winter in areas where bermudagrass has historically gone dormant.
Garvey wins ACE photo awards
Kathy Keatley Garvey, UC Davis communications specialist for UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won silver and bronze awards in a photography competition hosted by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). ACE announced the awards June 22 at its virtual conference.
She captured the silver with a Canon MPE-65mm lens and posted the image at https://bit.ly/3cUx358 Aug. 10, 2020, on her Bug Squad blog.
“The purpose of my image is to draw attention to the dwindling monarch butterfly population,” wrote Garvey, who creates habitat for monarch butterflies in her family's pollinator garden. “They are on life support.” The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation reports that overwintering monarchs have declined 99% in coastal California since the 1990s.
In addition to the silver award, Garvey won a bronze award for her photo series of male and female Gulf fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, “keeping busy.” Her post, “Fifty Shades of Orange, with a Touch of Silver,” appeared July 13, 2020, on her Bug Squad blog at https://bit.ly/2Q6cU3q.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Last year, Mary Ciricillo, California 4-H Foundation director, secured a $73,000 gift from the Newhall Family Foundation for 4-H Diversity initiatives, including $36,500 for Santa Barbara, Merced and Fresno counties. In order to receive the $36,500 match, UCCE had to raise funds as well as deliver the program.
“All three counties did it!” said Lorna Krkich, Development Services director.
4-H advisor Russ Hill in Merced County, 4-H community educator Alena Pacheco in Fresno County, and Liliana Vega, 4-H community educator in Santa Barbara County, led the successful fundraising efforts in their respective counties.
“I shared the FY19 fundraising report with the executive director of the Newhall Foundation illustrating how much each county 4-H program garnered in private support since July 1, 2018,”Ciricillo said. “I am happy to share that he was very pleased and impressed by Russ, Alena and Liliana's efforts.”
- Author: Jodi Azulai
Check out the growing list of learning opportunities on the ANR Learning & Development website!
Join the California 4-H Association on
March 11, 2019
11am-Noon
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/2093857418
669 900 6833 US
Meeting ID: 209 385 7418
One tap mobile
6699006833,,2093857418#
Liliana Vega, 4-H advisor in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, comes with vast experience working with underserved and marginalized communities. Vega published a article in the Journal of Human Science and Extension titled, “Best Practices for Outreach and Engagement to Latino Audiences Using Community-Based Programs” in collaboration with extension 4-H educators Barbara Brody of Oregon State University and Missy Cummins of Washington State University. Vega will share her research in reaching and serving Latino families and her experience in Idaho. Vega will highlight her work in hopes that others can identify how she may be a resource to staff and other educators across the state.
WebANR Café Thursday
TED-Worthy PowerPoint, Visual Storytelling
March 21, 2019
Time: noon-12:30pm
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428
Create a PowerPoint presentation that tells a story in an engaging and effective manner. Presenter, Adam Napolitan,
Director of Web Communications, UC Davis.
A recording will be linked on the ANR Webinar page.
Is it time to shake the nervousness connected to your performance review/appraisal? Preparing can help. For instance, prepare a list of things you'd like to talk about before your appraisal review:
- What were your greatest challenges?
- What were your biggest accomplishments?
- Reflect on previous reviews and highlight how you've developed.
Be honest about what is not working for you and where you need support. Frame your words positively. Instead of "I am bad at X," use the statement, ”One of the challenges I have faced is X.” Be alert, upbeat and ready to talk about your job. Also, have a few points that you'd like to leave the manager to take away from the discussion:
- Results you achieved
- Work commitment or ethic
- Leadership you've increased
- What you want to achieve in the next year
If you feel that your manager is not using all of your skills, let them know. Be ready to talk about how your work supports the mission of UC, UC ANR and your unit.
Here are some YouTube video resources:
- Prepare for your performance review ( 2:46 min)
- Be ready to discuss your role in the big picture (5:34 min)
- Humorous skit on performance appraisal to lighten up! (5:43)
LinkedIn Learning (with Lynda.com content)
ANR employees who had Lynda.com accounts should now have access to LinkedIn Learning (an online library of high-quality video tutorials) for creative and professional skills development.
As with Lynda.com, learn at your own pace and access course content anytime. You can even view videos at home for personal growth and development. Your transcript and training information will carry over from your Lynda.com account. In this LinkedIn Learning Blog post, you'll find out what hard and soft skills are needed most in 2019. Learn about LinkedIn Learning privacy information.
If you did not have a Lynda.com account before January 2019 and would like to access LinkedIn Learning, please contact Jodi Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu.
Being a manager is a challenging role. Maybe some of America's hit singers know this because about 99 percent of the songs in this article are actually all about being a manager! For example, Bonnie Tyler's "I need a hero."
You want to get the most out of your people. You want your team to hit its goals. And it would be nice to spend at least a tiny portion of your day not thinking about work.
LinkedIn Learning has hundreds of courses to help you work through some of biggest challenges all managers face. But sometimes, before you learn, you just need to know you aren't alone.
Note two link options for people manager videos (LinkedIn Learning or Lynda.com). Happy Learning!
Excellent videos to develop supervisory skills:
Coaching for Results (LinkedIn Learning)
Lead Like a Boss (LinkedIn Learning)
Management Tips Weekly (LinkedIn Learning)
Leading With Purpose (LinkedIn Learning)
Coaching Employees Through Difficult Situations (LinkedIn Learning)
Improving feedback with neuroscience
Direct reports and managers are encouraged to consider that constructive feedback can improve performance by up to 39 percent.
The big issue is knowing how to provide this feedback WITHOUT associating it with conflict or hurting someone's feelings. View the webinar replay on Gartner®. All ANR employees have access to Gartner. If you have not yet registered, going to the above link will give you the opportunity to register for your account.
What is Implicit Bias? (28 min.) Defines implicit bias; explores how it derives from the natural way human brains function.
The Impact of Implicit Bias (28 min.) Delves into how, and how often, implicit biases influence the decisions we make and actions we take; makes the case for the value in mitigating that influence.
Common Forms of Bias (21 min.) Identifies common forms of workplace bias, as well as various cognitive biases.
Managing Implicit Bias in the Hiring Process (23 min.) Explores methods for avoiding bias in the hiring process for anyone with a hiring-related role.
Managing the Influence of Implicit Bias: Awareness (24 min.) At the end of this module you'll be able to assess your implicit biases, recognize situations where you're prone to the influence of bias, and evaluate whether you are being influenced by bias.
Managing the Influence of Implicit Bias: Mindfulness and Conscious Debiasing (24 min.) Completing this module enables you to evaluate the influence of bias on the decision-making process, employ counter examples and stereotype replacement, demonstrate thoughtful and purposeful signaling, and construct a personal plan for managing the influence of implicit bias.
ANR staff benefit from My UC Career! How about you?
My UC Career is an online self-directed development portal available to all UC employees seeking to advance their careers. Already, 103 ANR staff members have benefited from My UC Career! A UC email address is all that's needed to register for an account.
The systemwide portal provides access to job openings at all UC locations via the Systemwide Job Board, as well as resources and tools to create and refine resumes, write cover letters, identify strengths, practice interviewing and find professional networking opportunities.
Check out our growing list of learning opportunities on the ANR Learning & Development website. Happy Learning.
/span>/span>- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Sidhu named UCCE vegetable crops advisor for Kern County
Jaspreet Sidhu joined UCCE on Sept. 4, 2018, as the vegetable crops advisor for Kern County.
Sidhu earned a Ph.D. in entomology from Louisiana State University and a M.S. in entomology and a B.S. in plant protection from Punjab Agricultural University, India.
Prior to joining UCCE, Sidhu was a research scientist at Virginia Tech (2016–2018). There, she coordinated and managed different projects funded by USAID in partner countries and provided assistance and expertise for the development of various components of IPM packages for tropical vegetables, fruits and other crops. At Louisiana State University, Sidhu was a research associate working on pest management in vegetable crops, focusing on efficacy trials, maintenance of field and greenhouse experimental trials and data collection and presentation (2014–2016). As a postdoctoral associate, she focused on stem borer management in rice in Louisiana. (2013–2014).
In addition to English, she is fluent in Punjabi and Hindi.
Sidhu is based in Bakersfield and can be reached at (661) 822-6222 and jaksidhu@ucanr.edu.
Diekmann named UCCE urban ag and food systems advisor
Lucy Diekmann joined UCCE on Aug. 20, 2018, as the area urban agriculture and food systems advisor for Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Diekmann earned a Ph.D. in environmental science, policy and management from UC Berkeley, a M.S. in environmental sciences from University of Virginia, and a B.A. in history from Brown University.
Prior to joining UCCE, Diekmann was a USDA-NIFA postdoctoral fellow and academic year lecturer in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Santa Clara University. In these roles, she studied the impacts of and barriers to urban agriculture in Santa Clara County, conducting research in collaboration with community partners. She also coordinated a working group on equity in the food system as part of an eXtension Community of Practice. From 2011 to 2014, Diekmann worked as a consultant for Smart Growth California, where she provided outreach materials about land use, transportation and housing policies to a network of funders dedicated to building sustainable communities in California. Her dissertation research examined the social and cultural impacts of ecological restoration on an American Indian community in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
Diekmann is based in San Jose and can be reached at (408) 282-3104 and lodiekmann@ucanr.edu.
Salinger to lead ANR Food Entrepreneurship
Zachary Salinger joined ANR on Aug. 15, 2018, as the food entrepreneurship academic coordinator under the UC Master Food Preserver program.
Prior to joining ANR, Salinger was working as CEO/founder of Basil (2016 to 2018), an off-the-grid vertical farm company in New Orleans. Basil's vertical farm model utilized 95 percent less water than traditional non-recirculating methods, no pesticides and an automated water system. He produced cherry tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and squash for residents in food deserts. To complete this model, he established partnerships with energy, architecture and farming industries. In 2017, his venture won funding from the prestigious NewDay Award, through the Changemaker Institute Accelerator at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation at Tulane University.
Salinger completed an MPH in nutrition and food security from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a B.A. in psychology from UCLA.
Salinger is based at the ANR building at 2801 Second St. in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1245 and zlsalinger@ucanr.edu.
Gunn named 4-H advisor in San Mateo and San Francisco counties
Maggie La Rochelle Gunn joined UCCE on Aug. 6, 2018, as a 4-H Youth Development advisor in San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
Prior to joining UCCE, Gunn managed Putah Creek Café Garden in Winters from 2016 to 2018. She also owned a business that provided gardening services, mentorship and educational workshops on sustainable gardening and farming topics to local businesses and residents. Gunn's Ph.D. dissertation, titled Portrait of a Learning Farm: Re-rooting Selves, Natures and Relationships, was an ethnography of learning relationships at the UC Davis Student Farm. She examined learning motivations in the experiences of student farmers, socio-spatial relationships, education and production dynamics, critical social issues that bear on learning relationships and institutional dynamics of program management. Gunn's master's thesis, An Analysis of Youth Poems from the River of Words: Exploring Environmental Identity, Education, and Youth Development, was a thematic content analysis of over 700 poems written by young people in the U.S. for the River of Words Poetry Contest. This was a study of youth attitudes toward community and place, yielding insights about constructive learning models and the impacts of negative public discourse around young people and the environment.
Gunn earned her Ph.D. in geography and a M.S. in community and regional development from UC Davis, with emphases in community education and farm and garden-based learning. She earned a B.A. in English literature from UC San Diego.
Gunn is based at Elkus Ranch in Half Moon Bay and can be reached at (650) 276-7424 and mlgunn@ucanr.edu.
Vega named 4-H advisor for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties
Liliana Vega joined UCCE on July 10, 2018, as a 4-H Youth Development advisor for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
Prior to joining UCCE, Vega had been an extension educator at University of Idaho since 2008 and associate extension professor since 2012. In this role, she determined and assessed the needs of area youth, focusing on youth from underserved and minority audiences; developed relationships with other educational institutions, agencies and organizations; identified and prioritized educational needs; planned, developed, coordinated, implemented and evaluated educational programs. She provided leadership in delivering 4-H youth education, disseminated program results through publications and presentations and managed grants and budgets. From 2008 to 2011, Vega was an instructor with responsibilities for 4-H youth development educational programming, afterschool programs, community outreach, volunteer development, volunteer and staff supervision, providing educational opportunities and information to Latino families and networking and partnering with community organizations and institutions.
Vega completed a M.S. in education, adult/organizational learning and leadership from University of Idaho and a B.A. in multi-ethnic studies (minor in Mexican American Studies) from Boise State University.
Vega is based in San Luis Obispo and can be reached at (805) 781-4188 and live@ucanr.edu.
Nemati named UCCE specialist in water resource economics and policy
Mehdi Nemati joined UCCE on July 1, 2018, as an assistant specialist in water resource economics and policy in the School of Public Policy at UC Riverside. Nemati's role is to provide leadership throughout the state to develop mission-oriented research programs among colleagues and universities. He facilitates teamwork among government agencies, stakeholder groups and private industry with a focus on promoting sustainable and cost-effective strategies for addressing water-related issues, such as water scarcity/drought. His policy-oriented research and extension program focuses on economic issues associated with urban/municipal water use and water conservation programs, including alternative pricing structures (e.g., budget-based tiered rates and drought pricing), and rebate programs (e.g., turf grass removal); direct and indirect potable water reuse; design of enforcement and monitoring strategies; incentives for the adoption of conservation practices and technologies. He is fluent in Farsi as well as English.
Prior to joining UCCE, Nemati was a graduate research assistant and teaching assistant at University of Kentucky from 2013 to 2018. Nemati's Ph.D. dissertation, Essays on Environmental Economics and Policy, examined various water policies, including 2015 drought mandate, and urban water conservation technologies effectiveness in water use reduction. In addition to research, he has experience explaining critical economic and data-driven concepts to a lay audience. He is the lead author of white papers for Dropcountr company. These non-technical summaries of his research were prepared for Dropcountr management and subsequently shared with government representatives and utility providers.
Nemati received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics and M.S. in economics at the University of Kentucky. He also earned an M.S. in agricultural economics at the University of Tehran, and his B.S. in agricultural economics at the University of Kurdistan.
Read more about Nemati's research at his website http://mnemati.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mnematie. He can be reached at (951) 827-9368 and mehdi.nemati@ucr.edu.
Wang joins UCCE as specialist in small-scale fruit and vegetable processing
Selina Wang joined UCCE on July 1, 2018, as an assistant specialist in small-scale fruit and vegetable processing in the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. Wang's research program focuses on chemical quality, purity and nutrition parameters that occur during fruit and vegetable postharvest, processing and storage. Wang is also the research director of UC Davis Olive Center, leading collaborative projects with the university and industry and helping to find practical solutions to push the forefront of olive research and education. She is fluent in Mandarin as well as English.
Wang's postdoctoral project on evaluating the quality of extra virgin olive oil in supermarkets received worldwide attention in 2010 and 2011. Wang has been the research director of UC Davis Olive Center since 2012, developing more than 150 applied research projects in table olives and olive oil - including domestic/international standards, chemical method developments for rapid testing of quality and purity, best practices for harvesting/processing/storage, to byproduct management and health benefits.
Wang earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UC Davis and a B.S. in chemistry at UC Santa Cruz.
Learn more about her research at https://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu, https://www.facebook.com/UCDavis.OliveCenter, http://www.selinawang.com/and https://www.instagram.com/selinawang_ce.
Wang can be reached at (530) 752-5018 and scwang@ucdavis.edu.
Crowder joins Communication Services
Lucien Crowder joined Communication Services and Information Technology in August as a senior writer and editor. He will write news articles, assist in writing opinion articles, edit a range of scientific and technical publications and manage publishing and production tasks for the peer-reviewed journal California Agriculture and the Publishing and Production group's other publications.
From 2012 until joining UC ANR, Crowder was senior editor at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a publication focused on technology-based threats to human civilization. For five years before joining the Bulletin, he was associate editor at Current History, a journal of contemporary international affairs. Previously, while living in Taiwan, he was a reporter for a business magazine and an editor at a daily newspaper. He holds a bachelor's degree in English language and literature from the University of Chicago.
Crowder is based at the ANR building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1219 or lccrowder@ucanr.edu.
Mutters honored by rice industry
Randall “Cass” Mutters, UCCE advisor emeritus, received the California Rice Industry Award, which is sponsored by the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.
Mutters, who worked as a UC Cooperative Extension rice farming systems advisor in Butte County from 1994 until his retirement in 2017, was introduced by UCCE specialist Bruce Linquist.
“As an advisor, Cass conducted an applied research and outreach program directed towards rice growers, pest control advisers, and other rice industry stakeholders,” Linquist said. “Cass' work has been visionary and transformative. Through his efforts, he has helped the California rice industry adapt to new challenges, and remain viable and competitive. He is recognized nationally and internationally as a rice research and extension expert.”
Linquist named a few of Mutters' career achievements.
“Cass developed the Leaf Color Chart to determine mid-season rice nitrogen needs. This has been adopted not only in California but also in many other rice production areas of the world,” Linquist said. “He quantified the effects of cold water on rice growth and yield, providing the California rice industry information needed to mitigate cold water damage. He developed guidelines to drain fields in preparation for harvest that allow growers to save water while maintaining yield and grain quality. In collaboration with the Rice Experiment Station breeders, Cass refined harvesting guidelines for new rice varieties, allowing growers more harvest flexibility and reduced drying costs. He is co-author of the Rice Quality Handbook, the most important publication in California dealing with post-harvest management of rice and used widely by rice storage managers. He was also part of the team that developed the first agricultural carbon offset protocol, approved by environmental groups and regulatory agencies in the U.S.”
In addition, Mutters has collaborated with others to test new California rice varieties, develop nitrogen management guidelines, refine rice water use estimates, and develop strategies to manage herbicide resistant weeds.
As part of his outreach program, Mutters developed the Rice Quality and Rice Production Workshops, which have trained more than 1,000 growers and other rice industry representatives.
Mutters also served the rice industry by participating in many committees of state and national significance, such as the Rice Certification Act, California Air Resources Board Technical Advisory Committee, and the Rice Technical Working Group Executive Committee. Earlier this year, he was recognized for his service to the rice industry with the 2018 Rice Technical Working Group Distinguished Service Award.
Mutters was presented with the rice industry award on Aug 29, 2018, at the annual rice research meeting. The award is given annually to recognize and honor individuals from any segment of the rice industry who have made outstanding and distinguished contributions to the California rice industry. Recipients of the award are nominated and selected by a committee of rice growers and others appointed by the CCRRF Board of Directors.
Downer honored by International Society of Arboriculture
A. James Downer, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Ventura County, received the 2018 International Society of Arboriculture's (ISA) R.W Harris Author's Citation Award. This award of distinction is given to authors who consistently publish timely and valuable content related to the field of arboriculture.
Click here for a video on A. James Downer. (https://youtu.be/8bBgpA09FZ4)
Downer, who holds a Ph.D. in plant pathology, also teaches classes in arboriculture and plant pathology at California Polytechnic State University in Pomona. Presenting at conferences around the globe, he has managed active research that has resulted in over 50 peer-reviewed articles.
“Dr. Downer is a dedicated teacher of the pathology of landscape ornamentals, horticulture, and arboriculture, translating his research into practical outputs,” says Paul Ries, ISA board president. “He has spent over 30 years speaking at conferences not only in his chapter region but internationally as well.”
Downer was recognized during the opening ceremony of the ISA Annual International Conference and Trade Show on Aug. 5 in Columbus, Ohio.
CalNat wins evaluation award
The UC California Naturalist Program was honored by the Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs (ANROSP) for their work developing a comprehensive program evaluation and performance management system.
Program evaluation for the UC California Naturalist program has evolved over the last five years and matured into a comprehensive and functional system that provides the CalNat program team with useful information for assessing performance, setting priorities, refining practices and allocating resources.
All of the practices (except the Five-Year Program Review and the Needs Assessment) are conducted annually, allowing for comparisons from year to year. Each practice includes a separate data collection instrument to evaluate the instructors, courses and volunteer service effort and process for reporting integration into planning and operations.
- Data collection, including needs assessment, post course evaluation and site audit survey
- Data analysis, reporting and communication, including a course evaluation report, a partner scorecard and a site audit summary
- Planning and adaptive management, including an annual plan, strategic plan and business plan
- Integration into operations, including revising standard operating procedures, and business process improvements.
These elements together serve as the foundation for the current program evaluation and performance management system for the CalNat program.
Sabrina Drill, UC California Naturalist Program associate director and UCCE natural resources advisor for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and community education specialists Marisa Rodriguez and Sarah Angulo accepted the award Sept. 12 at the annual ANROSP meeting in New Orleans.